Man charged with robbery, aiming gun

EPHRATA - A man is accused of shooting at a vehicle before trying to steal a second car as a couple was unloading groceries.

Prosecutors recently charged Jose L. Olivares Garcia, 23, Mattawa, with assault in the first degree, robbery in the first degree and taking a motor vehicle without permission in the second degree in Grant County Superior Court.

Mattawa police responded to reports of two gang members causing a disturbance with a blue Ford Focus, according to court records. A witness told an officer they shot at the car.

After shooting at the Ford, Olivares Garcia and a juvenile reportedly went to a nearby apartment, where a couple were unloading groceries from their vehicle. The couple refused to give them a ride.

Olivares Garcia allegedly drew a pistol from his shirt, loaded a round into the chamber, and pointed it at the male victim, according to the Mattawa police report.

"(The victim) stated both of the subjects crouched down as (if) they believed someone was watching them," according to the police report. "(The victim) took advantage of the diversion and ran inside his residence."

The man told his wife to call 9-1-1, and Olivares Garcia and the juvenile reportedly got into the vehicle, starting it and began to accelerate, according to the police report. When a police car started approaching the apartment, the suspects allegedly got out of the car and ran around a nearby apartment building.